


As the River Melts

by StarshipCaptain



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27636598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarshipCaptain/pseuds/StarshipCaptain
Summary: The soft sounds of birdsong and waterfalls accompany the melody of souls stumbling towards each other in the dark. It has been centuries.
Relationships: Erestor/Glorfindel (Tolkien)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	As the River Melts

“You cannot be real.”

“Yet here I am, as solid as the sky above and the soil below.”

Hesitantly, as if trying to preserve a carefully blown ring of smoke, his hand reached across the gap between them. It trembled, sweat and tears sparkled in the noon sunlight as it warmed cold skin.

“Erestor.” It was no more than a sigh, light enough to be carried away by the breeze, but Erestor jerked his hand back and clutched it to his chest.

“How did you get here?” Erestor demanded. He despised the way those cornflower eyes dimmed at his sharp tone, but what was he to do? There were several beats of hesitation before Erestor’s impatience got the better of him and he snapped, “Glorfindel!”

Glorfindel, for his part, looked chastised and scrambled to scrape together an answer. It was another second before he could say, “I sailed, across the Sundering Seas.”

Something in Erestor melted at the sight of Glorfindel scratching the back of his hand absentmindedly, the way his feet shuffled ever so slightly. How could he think to do anything but fall forward, to pull Glorfindel into his arms and never let go? He had seen him fall, had seen Glorfindel trade thunderous blows with a Balrog and for a moment in his flame-lit glory, Erestor had seen an elf beyond any other. The ripping claw of dread that tore through Erestor's heart as Glorfindel tumbled down, down, down raked its way up his spine and dug into his chest. 

He must have looked as haunted as he felt, for the last shreds of elation fled Glorfindel's features before he tried, "I came back, the Valar sent me. After all these hundreds of years I am back and yet you do not revel? You are not overjoyed to see me, your dear friend, returned from the Halls of Mandos?" There was something that edged just beyond desperation in his voice, an anxiety in the way he stepped towards Erestor. 

"Do not say such things," Erestor said, backing into the flowerbeds and crushing tiny blue petals under foot. "Do not dare to think I am not euphoric upon your return!"

“Then why do you back away?” Glorfindel asked.

Erestor’s heart caught in his throat and there were several painful moments of birdsong before he could stutter out, “I am afraid.”

“What is there to be afraid of?” There was a begging in Glorfindel’s eyes, but he stepped back and shrunk in on himself. “All these years I have waited to see you again and you flinch as if I wield the weapon of my own demise. Not a moment passed in those Halls that I did not spend longing for you.”

The feeling of a bottomless pit opened in his stomach as Erestor watched Glorfindel wither. He wanted to apologise, to sweep the warrior up in his arms and protect him from the waning of the world, but he couldn’t. Erestor had lived these centuries of hardship and trauma with only the thought that his friends needed him to keep him from fading, many nights he had stared into flickering flames and tried to forget his existence before everything went so wrong. 

Unbidden, the feeling of smooth sheets shifting over his skin and strong arms pulling him against a muscled chest overwhelmed him. He could smell the dust kicked up from the roads floating in through the window and the perfume of delicate flowers set in a vase on the dresser, the warmth of the sun lighting the room. Erestor could almost hear soft snores as his hair was picked up by a breeze, a phantom of warm breath tickling his neck.

It was barely a whisper when Erestor finally choked out, “I missed you so much.” His knees felt weak and there was barely a moment’s hesitation before he stumbled forward and crashed into a dream. 

Everything was just how he remembered, from the way Glorfindel’s hand swept up to pet the hairs at the base of his neck to the crushing heat that radiated from a heart far too full for its own good. Erestor thought it quite strange, really, that his own heart should feel so barren and frozen after centuries of surviving and yet such a brilliant light could pierce its shadowed depths in moments. That anything could find its way into the darkest corners and weed out the uncertainty made him shiver. Wet sniffles into his hair and a clinging grasp around his back were the final straws. 

“I-” Erestor tried to start, his voice muffled by the chest he was held against, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-to lose you. After you fell…”

“Hush, my dear,” Glorfindel soothed, “you have nothing to apologise for. The Valar took pity and now I am here with you again, we can ask nothing more than that.”

“Indeed we cannot,” Erestor conceded. He could hear the beating heart under his ear and heaved a sigh of relief. Things would be different, but for now he could stand in the courtyard swept up in Glorfindel’s embrace and pretend everything was fine.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope this was enjoyable to read! im really looking to improve my writing and this is a step in that direction. i will hopefully write more short stories and vignettes like this over the coming months, but if anyone knows of a community where i can get inspiration and encouragement i would be more than happy to join! drop me a dm if youre wanting to chat about this most wonderful collection of silly elves.   
> thank you again! <3


End file.
